WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – July 26, 2013 – Nurse Anesthesia Program Director Michael Rieker, DNP, CRNA, has been selected as a 2013 Fellow in The American Academy of Nursing. He will be inducted during the Academy’s 40th annual meeting in October in Washington, DC.Currently ranked seventh in the country, the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center nurse anesthesia program is the first in the United States, and only the second in the world, to receive full accreditation from the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists.To be considered for fellowship inclusion, candidates must show evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care. Aside from advancing education domestically, Rieker’s work with the Office of Global Health and the non-profit organization Kybele, Inc. included facilitating the development and ongoing support of a nurse anesthesia training program in Ghana.

Kybele is a non-profit 501(c)3 humanitarian organization dedicated to improving childbirth safety worldwide through educational partnerships. The role of Kybele is to bring professional medical teams into host countries, to work alongside doctors and nurses in their home hospitals, and to improve healthcare standards. Kybele volunteers model teamwork and compassion in real life and death situations, sharing knowledge when it matters the most.